Steel wool grinding and polishing wheel



Feb. 17, 1959 BlGELow STEEL WOOL GRINDING AND POLISHING WHEEL Filed Dec.1, 1954 INVENTOR WOAMA/VE fi/yaaxa I Norman E. Bigelow, West Granby,

Uniwd atem 2,873,466 STEEL WOOL GRINDING AND POLISHING WHEEL Conn.,assignor of one-third to George C. Graham and one-third to I. JordanKunik, New York, N. Y.

Application December 1, 1954, Serial No. 472,274

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-230) This invention relates to grinding, abrading,polishing and cutting wheels, and more particularly to a novel structurefor such wheels which are characterized, among other things, by greatstrength, resistance to bursting and excellent heat transfer capacity.

The wheel comprises essentially a reticular matrix consisting of thin,elongated strands or strips of metal such as steel, aluminum, copper, orthe like. An example of this material is the widely available materialknown as steel wool. Such a wool, as understood herein, comprises anagglomerate mass of these thin, elongated fiberlike strips which aretwisted and intertwined with each other in a random mass arrangement. Itis well known that after using a mass of steel wool alone for a shortwhile for the purpose of burnishing and polishing, the mass begins tolose the uniformity of its structure and ultimately falls apart. It isobvious, therefore, that the uses of such steel wools and the like arelimited to various hand operations and are not amenable to methods whereautomatic machinery is required to perform mass pro duction jobs ofgrinding, abrading, polishing and burnishing.

In order to make this metallic wool useful for machine operatedproduction and for economical performance, I combine this metallic woolwith a resin hinder or a combination of resin binders into a hard,cohering conglomerate mass which may be shaped in the form of a wheel orthe like. The wheel, when mounted by suitable means on the spindle of amachine may be rotated against various products that are to be polished,burnished, ground orabraded.

The metallic wool may be selected in all gradations between fine andcoarse depending upon the nature of the grinding, abrading or polishingjob that is required.

For some purposes the amount of resin binder required is that sufiicientmerely to form a thin film upon the metallic strands to cause them toadhere to each other at their intersecting points and to be fixedsubstantially rigidlyin position so that the metallic wool is no longerresilient in the mass. This may be accomplished by suitable curing ofthe resin after it has been applied to the strands. A wheel formed inthis manner has an open reticular structure with spaces between strands,whereby the abrading surface of the wheel may be cooled by heat transferthrough said strands, the motion of the wheel causing air to circulatethrough the body thereof to cool the strands. Since the periphery of thewheel will also have open spaces between resin coated strands, the wheelwill readily reject particles ground or abraded from the objects thatare treated by the wheel, thereby obviating the'deleterious effects ofclogging the operating surface.

-It is also within the purview of the invention to heat treat themetallic strands to increase their hardness to an extent depending uponthe ultimate use to which the wheel is to be put.

I have found that when coarse metal strands are incorporated in thegrinding wheel, such things as automobile 2,873,466 Patented Feb. 17,1959 body paint may be removed. With relatively finer grades of metalwool in various gradations, I find that copper, brass and aluminum maybe polished and burnished both in the raw sheet and in the manufacturedproduct more rapidly and more efficiently than with the present steelwire brushes which are considerably more expensive. The wheels of thepresent invention may also be used for removing rust from utensils,tools, raw steel billets, and the like.

Still other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent fromthe specification.

The features of novelty which I believe to be characteristic of myinvention are set forth herein and will best be underst od, both as totheir fundamental principles and as to their particular embodiment, byreference to the specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one type of grinding wheel made inaccordance with the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the embodiment of Fig. l, partly in verticalcross section; and

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of one means for dipping the metallic woolstrands in a resin binder.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is shown a grinding Wheel(Figs. 1 and 2) generally designated 21 formed of metallic strands 22substantially uniformly distributed throughout the mass thereof. Strands22 are coated by a fine film of thermosetting resin which has been curedto cause strands 12 to adhere to each other at their points ofintersection to form a substantially hard, nonresilient mass. In view ofthe exigencies of drawing tech niques, the thin film of resin binder isnot shown on the strands in the illustration of Figs. 1 and 2, but it isto be understood that such a film has been applied to said strands.Wheel 21 has a central ring 23 whereby it may be mounted on a shaft 24.In some embodiments end plates 25 of suitable material such as steel,fiberboard or the like, may be attached to the sides of the wheel toprovide for structural and operating stability.

In coating the metallic strands with resin, the mass of metallic strandsmay be shaped into the form of a grinding wheel and dipped in areceptacle 26 containing a thermosetting resin 27 in the fluid state.Wheel 21 is then removed from the fiuid resin, the excess resin ispermitted to drain 011, and the wheel is subsequently heated orotherwise treated to cure the resin, thereby causing the wheel to becomesubstantially hardened. into a permanent shape suitable for use upon thespindle of a grinding machine or of a motor driven hand tool. Themetallic wool wheel is now sufiiciently hard so that it is substantiallyself-supporting throughout its entire mass when it is secured to androtates around the spindle of a machine or motor.

In the specification, I have explained the principles of my invention,and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying thoseprinciples, so as to distinguish my invention from other inventions; andI have particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed the part, mode orcombination which I claim as my invention or discovery. 7

While I have shown and described a certain preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that modifications and changes may bemade without departing from the function and scope thereof, as will beclear to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A device for abrading or the like, comprising a plurality ofelongated metallic strands, said strands being intertwined at least atsome parts thereof with each other into a reticular mass, a sufiicientamount of binder rigidly connecting said strands at only theintersecting areas substantially unifortnly distributed throughout saidmatrix, said strands constituting the major mass of said matrix andperforming the principal abrading function thereof, said matrix beingshaped in the form of a rigid \vheel'that is-substantiallyself-supporting when rotated around a spindle at high speed.

2. A device fOr abrading or the like, comprising a plurality ofelongatedmetallic strands, said strands being intertwined at least atsome parts thereof with each other in areticular mass, a sufficientamount of binder rigidly connecting said strands at the intersectingareas thereof to form a matrix, the remaining portions of said strandsdefining a plurality of open spaces substantially uniformly distributedthroughout said matrix, said strands constituting the major mass of saidmatrix and performing the principal vabrading function thereof, saidmatrix being shaped in the form of a rigid wheel that is substantiallyself-supporting when rotated around a spindle at high speed. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS524,572 Beckett Aug. 14, 1894 a ass Landis Jan. 19, Crane Oct. 6,Vincent Feb. 27, Chase Apr. 22, Moriarty et al. June 10, Bryant Nov. 19,Legge Sept. 20, Scheel et a1 Oct. 25-, Jordan Nov. 21, Robinson July 14,Lovenston Sept. 16, Allison Mar. 3, Tully Jan. 12, Carter Jan. 18,Erickson June 30, Davies Nov. 10, Sevick Oct. 5,

FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Sept. 30,

